Sep 5, 2008

Travelers Don't Like High Gas Prices

Travelers are angry, and many feel near-record fuel prices are to blame. In a new study by iPerceptions Inc., a provider of Web-focused consumer information, reported that customer satisfaction with automotive and travel Web sites hit a 12-month low in June 2008 as prices at the pump climbed to over $4.11 per gallon nationwide. According to the iPerceptions Satisfaction Index (iPSI), customer satisfaction declined, between June 2007 and June 2008, from 7.54 to 7.3 on a 10-point scale. Customer dissatisfaction was also pronounced on travel Web sites, where satisfaction levels fell from 7.12 to 7 in the past six months.

The drop in customer satisfaction was accompanied by a sharp reduction in hotel bookings as consumers scaled back travel plans. The average number of nights spent in a hotel each year by leisure travelers plummeted 28 percent, between January and June 2008, from 14.7 to 10.6, and business travelers slashed their hotel stays per year by 25 percent from 31.4 to 23.6 over this same period. Online consumers overwhelmingly cited budget concerns and dissatisfaction with gas prices when asked for feedback during their online experience.

“I find it unbelievable with the price of gas and the economy in the shape it is that you are not making exceptions to your two-night minimum stay,” one visitor to a well-known hotel site wrote. “Not the prices I was looking for,” said another. “In a day and age where traveling is getting harder and harder to do because of gas prices, irrelevantly high-priced hotel rooms just isn’t part of the plan anymore.”

“Feedback from millions of visitors collected over the past year demonstrates a clear negative correlation between gas prices and customer satisfaction on automotive and travel Web sites,” said Jonathan Levitt, vice president of marketing at iPerceptions. “As the price at the pump has spiked, consumers are venting their frustrations online. And it isn’t just that satisfaction is hurting -- measurable business outcomes are falling as well.”